Catalogue Description:
The Kumano Shrine, (the main sanctuary shown at the bottom) survives today in the northwest corner of Shinjuku Central Park, near the present day Century-Hyatt Hotel. The pond has been filled in for many years, and in Hiroshige's time, this place was just outside the limits of Edo along the Koshu Highway. Here a Kumano shrine, known as the "Twelve Shrines" (Juniso or Junisha) after the multiple systems of divinities in the main Kumano shrine on the Kii Peninsula. In the lower right there is a veranda tea stall and in the lower left, a two storey restaurant. In the Meiji Period, the Juniso pond thrived as an entertainment center and summer retreat. There is a bare willow tree near the pond on higher ground. There is fabric-painting on the title cartouche and subtle bokashi throughout; the scratchy pattern in the blue expanse of the pond is the mark of a damaged baren.